Month: August 2017

The purpose of this post is to share my journey of being the Global Spartan Race Brand Ambassador. Believe it or not, I did Google it. But, there seem to be no clear steps to be the Spartan Race Brand Ambassador. Honestly, I experimented with different actions and trust the process. It works, and I am going to share with you how did I do it!

Here we go! On the 6 July 2017, I received DM from Spartan Racevia Instagram that I was invited to be part of Spartan Race Global Ambassador. I was thrilled when I got the DM. Immediately, I signed up for it.

Later on the 15 July 2017, I received an email from Spartan Race Organization that I am selected to represent the Spartan. I am given the title of Global Spartan Brand Ambassador.I am honoured to be part of the Spartan Race Ambassador family.

Here is the big question!

How did I become the Global Spartan Race Ambassador?

Since I was invited through Instagram, I will focus on the steps taken through creating an Instagram profile. I believe it is about sharing the positive value that reflects a Spartan life. For me, Spartan Race is more than just an obstacle race. It is a lifestyle and Spartan Race helps me to reinforce my WHY.

My why is to inspire people to embrace the adversity of life so that they can grow living life with fulfilment.

To start the journey, you must first join the Spartan Race! I believe that is the mandatory requirement of being the Global Spartan Race Ambassador. You want to be a Spartan Race Ambassador, you got to join one of the race which create credibility as an influencer. Click on the link below to sign up for Spartan Race and find your fire!

2. Create a Social Media Profiles.

Spartan Race is most active on Instagram. Then, followed by Facebook and then Twitter. You must create an Instagram profile, Facebook Page and a Twitter account too. Your account must be public so that The Official Spartan Race Social Media can see your profile. Your Instagram Biography should be short and concise to explain what your Instagram Profile about.

TIPS #1: Use Emoji in your Instagram Biography.

3. Create Amazing Content!

There is a saying, “Content is KING!”. Amazing content will attract people. You need to create content that reflects Spartan Race Brand. You can check at The Reebok Spartan Race website to find out their value. Here are the typical content that I published;

Spartan Race pictures.

Workout picture and video.

Motivational and Inspirational Quotes.

Books.

The content must add value to the audience. This will build attraction. It can be an informative content. The content needs promote engagement which can be a form of questions. You can add in motivation and epic music as well which will spice up your post.

TIPS #2: Do research on Spartan Race influencer. Learn what type of content they put on their social media.

4. Be authentic and show passion!

You got to do you! Be authentic and let your passion be on fire through your social media. Demonstrate GRIT in your work! You must be willing to invest time, effort and even money to build your presence for days, weeks, months and perhaps years. You must be willing to invest money to join the Spartan Race and purchase Spartan Race apparel as well. Document and showcase your journey in your social profile. That is the only way to make your profile known and connect with your audience.

TIP #3: Being a Global Spartan Race Ambassador will receive a special code for product discount.

5. Promote engagement.

It is about communication like just saying “Hi” to a new person you just met. You can do that on a larger scale through your Instagram. The number of “Likes” in your post reflects the breadth of your relationship with your followers. However, with quality comments and direct message(DM) reflect the depth of your relationship with your followers. If they DM you, please please respond to them as soon as possible. That is a great sign. They have shown their interest in you. It means you are on the right path!

How do you promote engagement?

Maximized the number hashtag# Instagram post!

Study their key hashtag. Being a Global Spartan Brand Ambassador I usually use #spartanrace, #spartanba17, #spartanracemy, #spartanracemalaysia, #spartanstrong #wearespartan, #iamspartan and any other related hashtag.

Follow other related influencer and initiate first to connect with them to catch their attention first. You can like their post, comment on their picture and of course the best is to DM them.

It needs to be consistent. The word will travel through word of mouth to their friends and family. Then, their friends and family share with their friends and family again. The chain will go on and on!

TIP #4: Post a minimum of 3 posts per day on your Instagram profile and spend one hour to study you follower so that you can add value to them.

6. Build Collaboration.

Collaborate with other Spartan Race Instagram influencer. It is best to connect with a potential influencer as well and that way you can build each other. The first thing you should do it to follow them of course. Comment on their profiles and DM them to express gratitude. Be the smartest person to comment on their post to grab their attention. Another way is to re-post their post. Remember to tag them as they are the rightful owner. I am very sure they are pleased that you share their content. Then, they may share your content with their followers too. If possible, it is to make an effort to meet them, and this will make the connection at a personal level.

7. Be Professional

Remember to be professional! You are, or you are going to represent Spartan Race with everything you post or say online. Never post anything offensive and content that promote provocation. They could be follower may try to provoke you. What you should be is play a higher game. Make sure that you keep your cool even when people become disrespectful or begin to troll. What you can do is to spread a positive message to the audience and add value to them. You can share your personal experience to inspire them. Do not be manipulative, instead be an inspiration. It does take effort, but it will work. You can do this by having a giver mentality.

8. Patient, patient and be patient!

Be patient! It does take time to be visible by the Spartan Racecommunity! Always be consistent and be a presence online. Remember, every brand ambassador will start with one genuine follower! It took me seven months to be notified by the Spartan Race organizer to be a Spartan Race Ambassador. Every day, I post a minimum of 3 different content that reflects the Spartan value. Most importantly, you must have the passion for it and enjoy the process! You can do it too!

I hope this blog post add value to you! I believe is it somewhat applicable to be a brand ambassador for other brands as well. Please follow me at @marvininspire! Just DM me for any inquiries related to Spartan Race. I will do what I can to help! Aroo!

GRIT is a personality trait on an individual who lives up to their passion and perseverance moving toward a goal despite being pushed down by significant obstacles and distractions. The field of psychology GRIT may include “hardiness”, “resilience”, “ambition”, “need for achievement” and “hunger for success”.

GRIT is what makes you get up after you fall down. GRIT is the awareness of achieving greatest potential comes from running a marathon, not a sprint. A better analogy is an obstacles race such as The Spartan Race.

Cultivating a GRIT personality is not an easy task as one may initially believe. Especially, in the society fueled by instant gratification nowadays. People nowadays desire rewards fast and immediately. When we post a picture on Instagram, we expect to see the number of heart increase. Yes, it feels good. But it is only temporary feeling. Living life with GRIT must be able live life with delay gratification. It will be tough, however, it will be worth it. There is a saying, it takes 10 years to achieve an overnight success.

“How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” is the first quote from the book of Start with Why. I got to know Simon Sinek through Youtube channel, TED Talk titled “How great leaders inspire action”. After I watched the video, I immediately bought the book. The message conveyed by Simon very profound and deep as it connects directly to my core belief. I love the concept of the Golden Circle that was developed by Simon Sinek. It helps me to understand my why.

In life, there is always an up and down moment. It is like the electrocardiograph (ECG) reading that measure your heart’s electrical activity. If there is up and down, it is a sign of life. You are alive! If it is a flat straight line, it is a sign of death. You are actually dead! It is the up and down moment that gives a meaning of life. It is death that gives life worth living. The key word is life fulfilment.

I asked myself, “What does fulfilment mean to me? I believe the definition of Fulfilment will be different to different people. To me, fulfilment is the feeling of completeness, of achieving your goal and connect to your why. I had to be in the moment of silence to frame on what does fulfilment means to me. It takes some time as well. I came up with the 6 Pillars of Life Fulfilment.

FAITH

Faith is the religious belief that you hold strongly which focus on the teaching. It is the value that you live up that was taught by your faith. The focus is the value and not the label whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Hinduism, Buddist and even Atheist. My church core teaching is about love and forgiveness. The call to action is to live by the core belief of my faith. Why do I need to follow my faith? What are the teachings that your faith taught you? How can I live my life based on my faith? These are the questions you can ask yourself. Most importantly take action!

FAMILY

A family are the most important people in my life. They are the one who accepts your weakness and strength. No matter what, they will always be there in that up and down moment. The call to action is to spend quality time with your parents and siblings. Especially your beloved father and mother. As we move into adulthood, we are so busy growing up, we often forget they are also growing old.

FITNESS

There is a saying, take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live. The human body was never designed for a sedentary lifestyle. We are designed to jump, run, swim, push, pull and lift. But, modernisation has changed that. We cannot just sit in the office for long hours in front of the computer. We need to move. How you take care of your body at a young age, will affect your body as you are older. The call to action is to eat well and healthy, exercise, play sports and move.

FINANCIAL

Zig Ziglar stated that money isn’t the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen on the ‘gotta have it’ scale. Let us be real here, we need money to survive for us to eat and places to stay. The goal here is to achieve financial freedom at a specific age. May be by the age of 37. The call to action is to create a side income and do not to depend on one source of income. We need to hustle and grind to achieve the financial freedom.

FRIENDS

Your true friends can consider as you extended family. They can be your source of support. They are the people who stand for you. They allow you to be yourself without judging you. They provide great company. They want you to be successful. Here, is the hard truth. As we grow older, we do not lose friends. We just learn who the real ones are. The call of action is to invest time with the right friends. The real one will accept who you are and even what you are. You have to choose the right friend to be with, you are an average of your five closest friends. If you have encouraging and positive friends, you will be motivated and positive. That will determine your future.

FREEDOM

Freedom is a state of not being restricted or subjected to anything. Basically, you can do anything you desire to do. However, it is something you have to work hard and earn. It comes with a balance. A sailor must be a master of the compass to earn the freedom to sail anyway. If he did master the compass, he is bounded to the vicinity of the shore only. Imagined, when you’re ordering food at an expensive restaurant and you do not need to look at the price of the food. That is freedom! To be specific, it is financial freedom. You must master different languages to earn the freedom to build a relationship with people of different races. You must master your time to earn the freedom to do whatever you want or need. It requires time and hardship to earn the freedom that you deserve. The call of action is to determine the type of freedom that you desire and work towards that direction.Your degree of freedom will be different at a different age. Your financial freedom could be different when you at age of 20 compared to the age of 40. It is depending on what you do will determine whether you have more freedom or less freedom. Remember, it requires work and it will not be easy at first. However, it will be worth it.

Let recap, it is the up and down moment of life that gives meaning for us to live. The key work is life fulfilment. The 6 pillars of life fulfilment are Faith, Family, Fitness, Financial Friends, and finallyFreedom. The first step is to accept it, then you got to work to earn it and finally, you can live it. Remember, it will be hard but it will be worth it.

Who is Marvin?

I am a husband, engineer, Spartan Racer, powerlifter and a blogger. The purpose of MarvinInspire is to inspire people to embrace the life obstacles. I believe the secret of winning outside, is to first to win inside. It is all about building a positive mindset to overcome the obstacles. Let's inspire people to embrace the obstacles to achieve greatness in life.